Tropical depression disrupts road, rail, sea travel in Taiwan

Taipei, A tropical depression that is currently battering the southern half of Taiwan has caused the closure of train services, highways and ferry services, the Ministry of Communications and Transportation said Friday.

As of noon, most train services on the West Coast Line had been suspended due to flooding of the tracks, while the Jiji Line in the central counties of Changhua and Nantou had been closed due to rockfalls, the ministry said.

Although some trains on the Main Line were still in operation, the services will be limited on Friday night, the ministry said.

It said all southbound Tze-Chiang Limited Express trains will terminate at Chiayi Station, while all Chu-Kuang Express trains will terminate at Changhua Station, as of 6 p.m. Friday.

Northbound Tze-Chiang Limited Express trains will start at Chiayi Station, while Chu-Kuang Express trains will start at Changhua Station, according to the transportation ministry.

On the Jiji Line, services will be suspended between Zhuoshui and Checheng stations, the ministry said.

Train schedules will remain unchanged on Tze-Chiang Limited Express routes north of Chiayi and for Chu-Kuang trains north of Changhua, the ministry said.

High Speed Rail trains were still in operation but were running at reduced speed in the flooded areas as a safety precaution, the ministry said.

Meanwhile, as of 10 a.m. Friday, 14 sections of nine highways in the southern half of Taiwan had been closed due to damage from flooding and landslides, according to the ministry.

Nine other sections of highways in the same region have also been closed, as a precautionary measure, as the weather system continued to dump torrential rain on Taiwan, the ministry said.

At sea, 55 ferry services on 11 routes remained suspended on Friday, including those between Taiwan and its outlying islands of Kinmen and Penghu, and Fujian Province in southeastern China, the transportation ministry said.

Ferry services between Taiwan proper and Orchid Island and Green Island off the southeast coast have also been canceled, according to the ministry.